Cameroon People's Democratic Movement

The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM), formerly known as the Cameroon Union (UC) and the Cameroonian National Union (UNC), is a big tent political party in Cameroon that was founded in 1960 by Ahmadou Ahidjo. The party was founded as the UC, which advocated African nationalism, while also cooperating with the French colonial authorities; it later merged into the UNC, which renamed itself to the CPDM in 1985. The CPDM and its predecessors dominated Cameroonian politics from independence onwards, and it was not until 1990 that the party held a regular congress. The party was led by Amadou Ahidjo from 1960 until his 1982 deposition by Paul Biya, who led it into the 21st century as both party leader and President. In 2017, it held 148/180 National Assembly seats.